Carrier for small game



Patented May 25,v 1943 Uhl-lil il@ 2,320,067 d Giannina Fos SMALL GAME Harry J. Gaughren,v Osakis, 'Minn Aanhanger-,weggaan 23,1940, serial No. 371,232

.invention relates to gaine; holders 0 1 can. fiers. and particularly to such devices adaptedv t0 be supported from the, .clothing of the hunter and4 t0 securely hold and carry small same bythe neck or legs.

It is anobject of my invention to provide a simpleinexpensiye gaine carrier adapted to be readily connected with or supported from an article of clothing such as a belt, a loop, or an. edge of a pocket onpairof trousers, and which will effectively retain the game at: the hips and thighs of a; hunter without' interfering. with his walking, aiming and other movements.

nMore specifically, it is an object to provide a game holder and carrier in the form of a simple, integrally' constructed"devicer formedv toprovide a 'retaining element for connection with a 'belt or other supporting portion of a hunters clothing, and'f'ormed also to providel a substantially vertical,` narrow, slotted 'member hav-ingrv an' openentrance" portion at its upper'enndfor'receiving the necks and legs of small gameywhereby the game will be :securely held? betwen vthe opposing sides of the slotted'me'niber with tlf-1e natural enlarge- .nents of th gaine, suchl as the head or feet,'pesi tively retaining the 'gan-le from displacement.

Another Qbject is to provide in such an intev gral'y device ypltnectih g" means adjacent the throat or entrance of theY holder proper toprevent'A upward disengagement of the'garne from the cn fins orthslotted; portion. d i i' c -Still anrtherfo'bject is the provision of readily 'detachable means for. engagement .with ,a belt.

loop, pocketor'other upwardly extending edge to support theholder.

It is. another object t0. provide a small. compat holder for small. same which may be conueniently worn at or adjacent theV hipsV of the hunter, 'and which is ofsuch size andl vshapethat 2f. number thereof may. be simultaneously utilized 'without seriously interfering with` hunting operations and in which fowls or other small gameas they are shot may be readily and easily secured and held while` the. hunter` is. standing or walking. y f

These and other objects. and` advantages will be more apparent f rorn the following description madein connectionwit-h the accompanying drawn wherein like reference characters refer to the same parts throughout the several views, and inwhichz.

Fig. 1 is` al fragmentary perspective view. showinsoneof mysame holdersand Carriers attached to; the belt adjacent thehinoi the wearer;

erably capable of being bent into shape with n properV tools and possessing a considerable degree of resiliency. The device comprises a narrow retaining loop ld which may be bent from the upper endv thereof, having an open and converging entra-nce throat [5bto facilitate engagement of the loop with a belt, pocket or upstanding edge such as the top of a pair of trousers. 'Ihe slot formed by the loop is diminished preferably adjacent the entrance portion to provide for resilient clamping action when the device is attached to and supported from the edge of apiece of clothing. Y

The body licv of my game holder I5 is straight v and extends downwardly for some distance below the loop I 5a forming the shank of a hook-shaped trance tol this` slot between the two turned extremities of the rod or wire isv of sufficient clearance to enable the neck portion of most game fowls to be readily passed therethrough to cause the neck to be engaged with the slotted member.

The Width of the slot S is suiciently narrow to prevent slippage of Ythe head therethrough and the game isthus retained within theconnes of the hook shaped portion. The element ld may bel sprung out somewhat with reference to the shank portion i5c in the event the legs or necks 'of game animals are too large for reception by the entrance portion ofthe device.

In use the narrow retaining loop 55a may be quickly4 slipped over abelt, an edge of a pocket or thev upper waist band of a pair of trousers or other upstanding edge, and is preferably disposed adjacent the hips of the wearer. Two or three of these devices may be worn about eachrhip withoutl inconvenience. In attaching my game holder the hook portion constituting the game holder proper, is disposed outwardly for convenience of attaching game.

Fig. 1 illustrates the manner in which a duck is positively secured within the confines of the hook-shaped element, the weight of the body, of course, placing the strain upon the thicker head of the fowl and the neck only being disposed in the slotted portion. The hook-shaped part of the device is purposely relatively short to prevent interference with the legs and hips during walking or other movements of the hunter, but in view of the relatively small diameter of the game animals neck or leg near the foot, several of such animals may be secured and effectively held by the device.

The construction and positioning of the outwardly bent extremity |f of the loop portion I5a at the upper end of the slot prevents accidental displacement or `disengagement of the game upwardly when lthe hunter is sitting down or in posi'tion where the body of the game would be urged in an upward direction. The game may be readily detached from the slot-forming-conning hook by pressing the neck against the outward hook portion ld and, if necessary, slightly bending the Isame outwardly, .the resiliency of the rod or wire from which the Idevice is constructed causing the hook portion 4to return .to normal position. The device is relatively short, very compact and a number may be carried in the pocket of a hunting coat and attached to the belt as needed. They extend downwardly from a belt or top of the upper trousers edge only a Ashort distance and do not in .any way interfere with walking, stocping or other movements of the hunter.

In Fig. 3 a slightly different form of the invention is shown wherein the confining hook and all parts of the device are similar to the form shown in Fig. 2, with the exception that the elongated loop l Ga is closed, .the extremity of the upper piece of the rod being inturned to form an abutment Iiif which has the function of the out-turned extremity l5f in Fig. 2 in preventing displacent of game from the retaining hook,

In Fig. 4 the length of the device is somewhat shorter than that of .the forms previously described, the hook portion l'id extending nearly to the .top of the retaining loop. Also it will be noted that the retaining loop lla is reversed in relation to the loop of the device l5, shown in Fig. 2, being disposed rearwardly vof the confining hook. This device is somewhat better adapted for attachment to the edge of a pocket or the upper waistband edge of a pair of trousers.

In Fig. 5 the device I8 is essentially similar' to the `device shown in Fig. 2, the diference, however, being in that a more restricted abutment or closure is formed for the entrance throat of the slot S. The outward hook portion |8d has' its upper extremity |86 bent inwardly into close relationship with the outwardly turned extremity If of the elongated retaining loop. With this device in all cases to insert the neck or leg of a small game animal, the part |811 must be re' siliently flexed outwardly.

The form shown in Fig. 6 is similar to the form shown in Fig. 2, with `the exception that the extremities of the rod or piece of material from which the device is made are curled or circularly bent at points IQ and lSe to better facilitate the entrance of the neck or legs of an animal into the conning slot.

In Fig. 'l a somewhat different form is shown essentially similar to the form shown in Fig. 4,`

but having, however, .the elongated loop 28a closed at its lower portion by inwardly bending .the upper extremity of the material while the other extremity of the material is bent inwardly at 20e to form an abutment for preventing displacement of game from the carrier. In this form, as in the form shown in Fig. 5, the hook portion 20d must always be flexed outwardly for insertion of the neck or legs of an animal.

The form shown in Fig. 8 is similar .to the form shown in Fig. 2, with the exception that the outer hook portion 2id is extended upwardly above the lower end of loop portion Zia and terminates in an outwardly curved extremity 2|e cooperating with the opposing bent portion 2li of the loop to assist in guiding an animal into the conning slot and enabling the camming effect to be obtained for springing hook portion 2id outwardly. Y

The form shown in Fig. 9 is similar to the form shown in Fig. 2 with the exception, however, that the upper end fof the hook portion 22d is bent adjacent its upper extremity to form an abutment or detent 22g, forming more of'a restriction against upward displacement of the game than in the form' shown in Fig. 2. i

The form shown in Fig. 10 is similar to th form shown in Fig. 2, with the exception, however, that the hook portion 23d is tortuously bent to provide a series of (as shown, three) concave neck retaining elements 2311 each adapted to individually retain the neck or leg of an animal, and these elements being spaced apart by concave bends or abutments 23g which each restrict upward displacement of the respective animals held.

Fig. 11 shows a form wherein the outward hook portion 24d extends above the lower retaining loop 24a and the portion of the loop adjacent the hook is outwardly bent to cooperate with the hook to provide an abutment 24k to prevent upward displacement of the game from the conning slot of the hook. y

From the foregoing description it will be seen that I have provided an extremely simple,linex pensive and highly efficient game carrier adapted to be readily connected to and supported from a belt, upstanding edge,fpocket, loop or other articles of clothing of the hunter and constructed to positively retain small game at the hips and thighs of the hunter.

It will further be seen that the device is compact andrso constructed and positioned that it will not impedein any way the free movements of the hunter, nor become entangled with brush or debris, as is the case with many elongated game carriers utilized at this time.

It will further be seen that an eiiicient means is provided in my device for preventing upward movement and displacement of game from the carrier when the hunter sits down or moves inV such a way as to normally urge upward ,movement of the game.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details, proportions and arrangements of the parts without departing from the scope of my invention.

While the carrier of the present invention has been described as a carrier forgarne, it will, vol' course, be understood that the'carrier can be used for holding and supporting from the belt of the wearer a great variety of articles such as tools, packages, lunch boxes etc. to leave the hands of the wearer free and clear. While in the claim the carrier is referred to as a carrierforsmall game, it will be appreciated that said terminology is to be taken to mean a carrier for game as well as for other purposes.

What is claimed is:

A carrier for small gaine comprising, an integral length of rod material bent at an intermediate portion in the form off' a narrow U with the sides of said U being in nearly parallel relationship and cooperatively dening a narrow game holding slot for the reception of the necks or feet of game animals, the upper portion of one of the legs of said U-shaped portion terminating in a. free end extending upwardly and disposed some distance below the upper end of the other leg of the U, the opposite end of the length of material being lbent upon itself above said free end and on the side of said length adjacent said free end to constitute a beltl receiving loop, said loop being open at its lower portion with the extremity of said loop forming the end being bent outwardly in opposition to the open end of said slot and sufficiently close thereto to prevent accidental removal of game from the game holding slot and to further facilitate an entrance of a belt into said loop.

HARRY J. CAUGHREN. 

